Actual Female Named Most Powerful Gay in America (Guess Who?)

ALL THE GAY LADIES:Who’s the most powerful gay person in the U S of A? Is it Tila Tequila? Is it Ke$ha? Surprisingly enough, it is not. Well, on a mostly male-dominated list (I’m gonna go out on a limb where you can throw rocks at me here and suggest that perhaps this might be more a result of a male-dominated world than a gender bias in OUT magazine… although I’m wondering why Annie Lebowitz and Rosie O’Donnell are pictured in that graphic but aren’t on the list itself?)

All the ladies: The maybe-out-maybe-not Jodie Foster clocks in at #41. #39 goes to Martha Nelson, group editor at Time Inc.’s Style & Entertainment Group. Wanda Sykes nabs #36 for having the best year ever, although apparently last year was better, when she ranked 35th. As for the politicians, New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn takes #23 and Tammy Baldwin ranks 9th. Suze Orman one-ups (man) Dan Choi who’s at #27.

The top five they basically stole from our Autostraddle Icons of 2009 except clearly they forgot about the incredible power of Tegan & Sara. Adam Lambert took 5th, Rachel Maddow follows up at 4th, and Ellen Degeneres snags the top spot.

The most interesting part of this ranking might be the apology of sorts the intro offers to Adam Lambert, who the magazine castrated during the Out 100 by claiming he was reluctant to participate in a gay photoshoot. (Adam countered that all he’d said was he didn’t feel knowledgeable about gay politics to be asked those questions specifically, but that’s it):

And then there are those we never saw coming, such as one Adam Lambert, whose attention-grabbing run on American Idol was largely interpreted as a referendum on tolerance.

Not everyone has to be a Lambert fan to appreciate the power of his position to influence our cultural and social attitudes for the better—one of several factors taken into consideration when compiling this list.

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be the first on the National Mall to recognize a person of color and a man of peace, not a president or a veteran of war. In 1996 Congress authorized the Memorial Foundation to raise funds to establish a national memorial to honor the legacy of Dr. King on the National Mall. The memorial’s very existence signifies that we as a people believe Dr. King and his legacy deserve this esteemed placement in what can be considered America’s “Hall of Fame.”

BOOKS:
Not exactly “Pat the Bunny,“Tactile Minds” is billed as porn for the blind. – “We’re breaking new ground,’ she told the Telegraph, saying that she created the book after noticing that the ‘blind have been left out in a culture saturated with sexual images.” (@salon)

DEPILATION:Amanda Palmer and Mo’Nique Say Their Choice to Go Unshaven is Personal, Not Political – “People assume you’re making a statement, but I’m not,’ she tells the Times, much to the confusion of reporter Catherine Saint Louis, who follows up with a ‘Say what?’ Palmer explains that, if anything, it’s a statement of choice, but not of prescription. She understands that many women simply ‘don’t want to deal with the stares, and [shaving is] the path of least resistance.” (@salon)

EAT YOUR WORDS:
It turns out that Mike Huckabee’s choice words about the gays are even worse than we thought. – “Mike Huckabee is claiming those terrible comments he made to a college newspaper about gay marriage — that it’s a “behavioral pattern,” like drug using, that shouldn’t be tolerated — were taken out of context. Except the student reporter recorded the whole thing. Oops!” (@queerty)

Laura is a tiny girl who wishes she were a superhero. She likes talking to her grandma on the phone and making things with her hands. Strengths include an impressive knowledge of Harry Potter, the ability to apply sociology to everything under the sun, and a knack for haggling for groceries in Spanish. Weaknesses: Chick-fil-a, her triceps, girls in glasses, and the subjunctive mood. Follow the vagabond adventures of Laura and her bike on twitter [@laurrrrita].

seems like masturbating to 3d porn would be way more trouble than it’s worth. you have to hold the book and touch the book, which leaves you with no hands. or you put the book beside you but what if it falls and even then you only have one hand to work with — idk. just seems like a lot of trouble.

It is so exhausting leaving comments on this site because everyone before me has out-said everything I could have never thought to come up with myself already. So now I can either say something similar, or sit for Longer than Necessary to come up with something witty of my own to say. See? Exhausting.

Here’s what I came up with: Congrats to Ellen on topping the list.

I really need to start focusing my energy on something more worthwhile. Clearly it’s not working when it comes to leaving interesting comments.

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